Aysha E Arar

Palestinian artist, Aysha E Arar (born in 1993, Jaljulia, where she lives and works), uses painting, video, performance and poetry ; she paints on paper, canvas and on the wall, moving from narrative to abstract painting, where she combines imaginary creatures based on Palestinian legends. At the center of her practice lies her own identity. She practices an art of resistance to oppression through the power of images and voice, a quest for freedom and its meaning. In her own words, “I don’t know how to draw realistic paintings, I draw from the world of imagination and fantasy. This allows me to merge imagination with reality and all the contradictions that I live in”.

Aysha E Arar has had solo exhibitions at Dvir Gallery Paris, Tel Aviv and Brussels ; Musée d’art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne – Château de Rochechouart, Rochechouart ; Sans titre Gallery, Paris, Beit Hagefen, Haifa ; Hayarkon 19, Tel Aviv ; CC Strombeek, Grimbergen ; Givat Haviva Art Gallery ; and This Weekend Room, Seoul. Selected group exhibitions include: Beaux-Arts de Paris, Paris ; MO.CO. Panacee, Montpellier ; Edmond de Rothschild Center, Tel Aviv ; Cooper Cole, Toronto ; Umm al-Fahm Gallery; Alfred Institute for Art and Culture, Tel Aviv ; Kultur Forum Dresden e.V. ; Albertinum Museum, Dresden ; Kunsthaus Baselland, Münchenstein / Basel ; Artura Gallery , Kfar Monash ; Balkont Gallery, Tel Aviv ; and the Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv. She was also part of a group exhibition in Sofia and Varna, Bulgaria. Arar’s works are featured in the collections of significant institutions and museums, including SMAK - Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst in Ghent and the Fondation Lafayette Collection. Additionally, she has received several art prizes and grants and has participated in international residencies.